Many people believe they are Christians even though they are not, and Reverend Bert Farias of Holy Fire Ministries is expressing concern that more and more Christians have forgotten what it truly means to be a child of God.
In an article for Charisma News, Farias said there is a wave of watered-down and timid version of Christianity, which he calls "Churchianity," that has flooded the Christian world. He said the non-confrontational Gospel in this "Churchianity" has failed miserably to deal with sin and repentance.
"We have forgotten that the central message of the Gospel is that Jesus came to save us from our sins, not in our sins. He didn't just come to forgive us of our sins but to free us from our sins. This is one of the most tragic fundamental errors we have made in our contemporary Gospel, and it largely explains the degradation in our society today," he lamented. "A weak church has opened the way for the devil's onslaught."
Farias noted that the themes of holiness and sanctification are hardly ever mentioned in churches nowadays. Now people think that once they are saved, they are always saved and they are free to do whatever they want, he said.
People have changed "the grace of God into a license for immorality," said Farias, "giving heed to seducing doctrines of demons."
"The church world is fast adrift into an 'easy believism' salvation void of His Lordship that Christ would not recognise today," he said.
Because of this, Farias said the word "Christian" is almost meaningless now because of how people who are professing to be children of God are acting and behaving in His name. He urged people to examine themselves and to test themselves if they are indeed practicing the true faith.
"Only the dishonest fear the truth. If your faith is real, it will stand any thorough examination. If it is false, God knows it, and you shall know it, too. Please do something about it before you go out into eternity," he implored.
